This invention relates to bed sheets and, more particularly, to reversible, longer wearing bed sheets.
Conventional bottom or "fitted" sheets include a generally rectangular piece of percale, a woven material, wherein each of the four corners is cut, stitched to form a seam and elastic is stitched to the border.
Conventional top or "flat" sheets are used on top of fitted sheets and are rectangular pieces usually also made of percale. The corners are not cut and no elastic is used. However, sides may be hemmed by stitching an overlapped piece of edge. Three of the sides of the rectangle are tightly tucked-in between the box spring and the mattress to give the top sheet its characteristic flat appearance.
The drawbacks associated with these conventional fitted and flat sheets follow. Under stress the corner seams eventually tear, thereby rendering the sheet unusable even though the fabric may still be good. The stress on the seams is increased, of course, when the cotton sheet shrinks due to repeated washing and drying or because the depth of the mattress is such that the conventional sheet does not adjust thereto.
Conventional fitted and flat sheets are not intended to be reversible because the various corner and edge stitching has one finished side and an opposite unfinished side. Lacking reversibility only one side of the sheet gets worn and is then usually discarded.
The flat sheet is also deemed by many people to be restrictive or uncomfortable, especially for feet movement. Percale is a non-giving or non-expandable fabric. In an effort to get more room, some people pull the tucked-in end of the flat sheet out from between the mattress and box spring.
Other sheets have been developed where corner seams have been omitted. However, such sheets usually rely on one or more draw strings to constrict the sheet edges around the mattress. Such draw strings are very difficult to use with the usual mattress, create extra bulk, and complicate washing and ironing. Also, said sheets are not usually reversible.